


Cruel

by ThatGoblin



Series: The Pack [5]
Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Everyone's upset, F/M, Gen, M/M, Sad times, mentions of domestic violence, rhett forgets how strong he is, slight domestic violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:40:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23673220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatGoblin/pseuds/ThatGoblin
Summary: Rhett's not as put together as he seems.
Relationships: Link Neal/Original Female Character(s), Rhett McLaughlin & Link Neal, Rhett McLaughlin/Link Neal, Rhett McLaughlin/Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Pack [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1699129
Comments: 7
Kudos: 18





	Cruel

**Author's Note:**

> Just fair warning there is some depiction of domestic violence, not terribly graphic, but I did want to give a warning as it does involve all three main characters.

I didn’t think he’d be mad.

When Rhett came home he’d been tired from being on the road for so long. I figured he’d want to rest while Link and I did chores. The sheets had been changed since our late night exploration and things had been cleaned, but when he laid down, Rhett was right back up again.

“The hell did you two do?” He asked, grumbled as he stood in the kitchen as Link and I were putting our boots on. 

“What do you mean?” I asked, confused by his attitude. 

“I mean, I can smell that you two have been fooling around in the bed without me,” Rhett growled.

“And?” I said, not getting why he was upset. 

“Rhett, we talked about this,” Link said, jumping in as he walked over to the other. “You said it was okay and I said it was okay if either of us went further without the other as long as Wren wanted to.”

“So?” Rhett snapped. “I didn’t think you’d actually do it.”

“I did what Wren wanted, I wasn’t gonna tell her no till you got home,” Link said, trying to calm Rhett down. 

“You don’t get to decide what I do and with who,” I snapped at Rhett. What was his deal? He was all for us making out when Link hadn’t been home, but then when the tables were turned there was a double standard?

“Stay out of it,” Rhett snarled at me. Oh. That’s what he was wanting to do. 

“Excuse me?” I said, marching over to him. “The fuck did you just say?”

“I said, stay out of it,” he growled at me, his face reading pissed off. 

“Wren, don’t,” Link said, reaching over to pull me back.

“No! You don’t get to come home and get pissed because me and Link were together when you had the same thing basically when he was gone!” I cried, shrugging off Link’s hand. 

“I didn’t fuck you in our bed for him to smell,” Rhett hissed. “Maybe I’ll fuck Link in the bed and rub your nose in it that you can’t have it. Tell you to just deal with it.”

“Rhett, stop!” Link snarled. 

“No! She wants to act all innocent and shit, then turn around to have you and not me, fine!” Rhett yelled. “She’s just an Omega tease-”

Everyone went silent at the sound and sight of me slapping Rhett hard. Tears burned my eyes as I stood there shaking in anger and hurt. 

“You shut your mouth,” I hissed. “I don’t know what your deal is or why you’re suddenly being an ass, but stop it.”

Rhett snorted softly, smirking slightly as he turned to look at me, getting close to get in my face. 

“Don’t ever hit me again,” he said, his tone even and hard. “You wanna start getting physical, I’ll get physical right back.”

“Don’t you touch her,” Link snarled, moving to stand between me and Rhett. “Go for a walk! Clear that stupid head of yours out a bit.”

“Oh, so now you’re gonna side with her instead of your mate?” Rhett said, glaring at Link. “You’re gonna pick her over me? She’s not been here but under two months and you’re taking her side?!”

“It’s not about sides, Hon,” Link said, holding his hands up. “You said it was okay, so we went ahead. If you didn’t like that idea you should have spoken up. We didn’t mean to hurt you and I’m sorry.”

“Well sorry don’t change shit,” Rhett snapped. “You still had her when I wasn’t there.”

“You don’t get to be mad at us for something you said was okay!” I cried out in frustration. “You don’t get to guilt us for something you should have spoken up about! You’re being a jealous dick and need to stop!”

“You’re an Omega!” Rhett yelled back. “You don’t get to tell me what to do, I tell you what to do and right now, you need to stay out of this!” 

“Rhett, stop it!” Link cried, moving closer to Rhett. The whole house was stinking up with jealousy and hurt and anger, feeding into our fight and spurring us on. 

“No! She wants to act like she doesn’t know her place!” Rhett snarled.

“Fuck you!” I cried, wanting to fight Rhett. I wanted to throw a punch, but I was holding back. Link held me back with an arm as well thankfully. 

“Everyone stop it! Outside!” Link roared, glaring at us both. 

“She can go outside, this is between you and me,” Rhett said, not backing down. 

“Rhett, we can talk, but I’m not gonna yell and fuss like this,” Link said, keeping his stance. “I know you’re mad and hurt, but carrying on like this isn’t gonna fix it.”

“You said you’d wait,” Rhett said, getting in Link’s face. “You promised.” 

“When Rhett?” Link asked, lowering his voice, attempting to soothe the pissed off Alpha. “Last time we talked, you said that whatever happened between us and her was up to her. If she wanted just one of us at a time or both of us or neither of us, it was up to her.”

“I don’t want it to be up to her!” Rhett snapped. “I don’t want you two together without me!” 

“But it’s okay for you and I to be together without Link?” I said. “You can’t have it one way, Rhett. That’s not fair.”

“Not fair? You wanna know what’s not fair?” He said, moving closer to tower over me. I didn’t want to back down, to let him think he was in charge. I cared for them both, deeply, but I could not handle this jealousy coming off of him. “It’s not fair to come home from a week and a half on the road to smell your mate with an Omega in your bed.”

“Link just said you talked about it though and you said you were fine with it,” I said, feeling my body start to shake from anger and refusing to bare my neck, to submit to him when he was in the wrong. 

“I lied! I didn’t think you’d do anything like that without me here,” he said with a huff. 

“Rhett, please. I want you to be honest with us,” Link said, reaching out to touch Rhett’s chest. He was desperate to try to curb this argument, to make it better. “I want you to tell me if you don’t want something or do want something. It’s the only way this is gonna work.”

“I don’t want you two together without me,” Rhett said, looking to Link. 

“Then you and I can’t be together without Link,” I said. Link was the pacifist, but I had a feeling that if Rhett got his way, then it wouldn’t be fair. It wouldn’t be right. “You want all three of us together at once, fine, but nothing without each other. That means you two can’t be together without me.”

“That’s not happening,” Rhett said with a snort. “Our relationship is older than you are. You don’t get to tell us what to do with it.”

“You brought me into this relationship and seem to think you can dictate everything about it, but I’m not going to let you throw a damn tantrum because your feelings are hurt and get mad at us for something you said was okay,” I snapped. “You shouldn’t have said it was okay if it wasn’t okay with you.”

“Rhett, please, let’s just calm down and go outside. It’s too stuffy in here and everyone is wound up,” Link said, tugging on Rhett’s hand as the taller man kept staring me down. “You’re tired and cranky.” 

“Not till she submits,” Rhett said, keeping our eyes locked. It wasn’t like the first day we met where I could only do so much against him. I lived with him, shared a bed with him, spent so much time with Rhett that he didn’t hold much of a command over me. 

“Rhett,” Link said, pulling on his hand. 

“I’m not doin’ shit,” I hissed. 

“Let’s just go,” Link growled. He grabbed my hand to drag me away, but Rhett grabbed my other arm pulled me back.

“I said not until she submits,” Rhett snarled.

“Let go!” I cried, struggling against the Alpha. 

“Rhett! Don’t!” Link cried as he tried to pry me from Rhett’s grip.

“She’s gotta learn her place! She can’t have whatever she wants!” Rhett snapped at Link, glaring at his mate as they became physical. Link jerked Rhett away by the shirt, trying to get him to let go. Rhett pushed back against him, raising a hand to swing. 

“Stop it!” I cried, trying to catch Rhett’s arm. I wrapped my arms around his arm, but he wasn’t paying attention. He shoved me off of him to grapple with Link. I went flying back, surprised at the strength of a simple push. Stumbling, I fell hard against the wall with a loud ‘CRACK!’ before falling to the floor. 

I slumped over to my side, ringing in my ear as I tried to focus. It felt like someone had picked me up and shook me before throwing me down. My vision was doubled and it was hard to concentrate as I kept trying to get back up. The last time I felt like that was when I’d had one too many beers and couldn’t stand on my own. 

“Easy, easy,” Link said, suddenly in front of me and forcing me to stay sitting down. “Hey, look at me. Wren, look at me.” He helped me sit up as his fingers gingerly touched the back of my head. 

“Ah!” I hissed when he touched the spot where my head had whacked against the wall. 

“Sorry, sorry,” he said softly. “Fuck. How many fingers am I holding up? Wren?”

“What?” I asked, his question not making any sense to me. “Fingers?”

“Yeah, how many fingers am I holding up?” He asked again. I could barely understand what was happening. It didn’t feel right. I was tired and my head was killing me. 

“Can go huh?” I mumbled. I wanted to say, I don’t understand, but those weren’t the words coming out of me. 

“Shit,” Link hissed. “Rhett! Get your boots on, we gotta get her to the hospital!” 

“Loud,” I winced, trying to stand again. It must have been like watching a baby deer on ice. As it took both of them to help me up. Link tried to carry me, but my body wouldn’t let him. 

“Come on, there you go,” Link said softly as they got me to the truck. “Oh god, her back.” My back? I later came to find out that head wounds, even if just a few centimeters long, bleed HEAVILY. The entirety of the back of my shirt was covered in blood. “Rhett get her in the truck, I’m gonna get a towel.” 

“Blue the while,” I muttered as Rhett carefully helped me into the truck. At first I thought it was me shaking, but as soon as I sat in the middle seat, I realized it was him. He was shaking. 

“God, I’m so sorry,” he whispered as he turned on the truck. “Wren, Sweetheart, I’m so, so sorry.” Link sprinted back out to us, jumping into the truck. 

“Drive,” he said as he pressed the towel to the back of my head. Rhett didn’t need to be told twice. Going as fast as he dared as he nervously kept glancing at me as I whimpered and cried out in pain at the rough dirt road that led from our house to the main highway. “Just drive, she’s gonna be in pain no matter what. She needs a doctor,” Link said firmly. “Wren, look at me. Talk to me Darlin’. I need you to stay awake, okay? Don’t go to sleep.”

“Hurts,” I whined, feeling like I would blink and things would be different suddenly. I’d look at the road as we drove, but blips would be missing and suddenly we were maybe a few miles down the way. 

“She keeps passing out,” Link said. “Honey, we need you to stay awake. I know it hurts and we’re getting to the hospital, but you gotta stay awake.” I wanted to yell at him, tell him I was trying, but my words just kept coming out jumbled nonsense and my vision kept coming and going. Like sitting at the eye doctor’s office while they asked you if 1 or 2 was clearer then compare it to A or B. I wanted to close my eyes, but Link would get loud if I did and I’d get nauseous. 

I knew the nearest hospital was almost a half hour away, but it felt like a mix of forever and suddenly being there. Rhett dropped me and Link off at the front where we were able to get a wheelchair from a nurse. When I was wheeled away from Link, nurses taking over, everything turned into a blur. I think I had a CAT scan done, definitely got a couple of staples in the back of my head, but by the time I was coming to and able to feel somewhat in control, I found myself sitting in an ER bed looking around. 

“Ms. Avila?” A nurse said as she pulled back my curtain. 

“Yes?” I said. My head still hurt like hell, but I didn’t feel nauseous or dizzy. 

“Hi, I’m Mary, your nurse. You came in here a few hours ago with a head wound and a concussion with two Alphas who said they were your mates. We don’t have anyone written down as your next of kin other than your mother and father, but they are in the waiting room. I wanted to check in on you, go over a few things before we talked about releasing you,” the woman said. 

“Okay,” I nodded. 

“First off, do you know how you obtained your injury?” She asked

“Uh,” I said, thinking back. “I was arguing with my mate and I think he accidentally shoved me when he wasn’t paying attention. . . I think. . . It was an accident, though. I know that.”

“Are you sure?” The nurse asked. Her pen hovered above the clipboard as she looked as she looked at him. “Both of the Alphas are out in the waiting room. If something happened, you can let us know.”

“What? No, it was an accident. Just put that it was an accident,” I said. 

“Okay,” she said, jotting it down. “And can I have your current address?” I rattled off my address, the one with Link and Rhett, before continuing to answer her questions. “Since you seem to be basically back to normal and your CT scan shows up normal, we can release you with an order of rest for at least a week with mild painkillers. No heavy lifting, limited screen time, and no extra stimulus.” 

“Sounds good to me,” I said. 

“Are you wanting to be released to the Alphas that brought you in? The doctor doesn’t have any immediate concerns to keep you overnight, but you will need someone to watch you for the next 48 hours and wake you up periodically,” she said. 

“Uh, yeah. They’re my mates. I just haven’t updated anything yet,” I said with a nod. “Can I have some painkillers now?”

“Of course. I’ll get this paper work taken care of and be back in a second with those pills and a wheelchair,” the nurse said, giving me a smile. I wondered why they hadn’t let Link or Rhett back to see me. Reaching back behind my head, I touched the spot where I’d been hurt and after a moment, realized it was just one staple in my head and I had a goose egg the size of a baseball. It felt weird and touching it made me queasy. I was ready to go home and rest. The nurse returned, giving me some extra strength tylenol as well as paperwork to get some at the pharmacy before I was wheeled out. 

A lot of the fight was just blips for me. I knew Rhett was upset and had said things to upset me and Link, but. . . I didn’t remember it too well. It was probably for the best because when I came out, I saw Rhett’s face was red and his eyes bloodshot. Had he been crying? Link smiled as I gave a small wave. 

“You thought you’d be rid of me,” I said softly with a small smirk. 

“Well, we tried our best,” Link said with a chuckle before he took over the wheelchair to wheel me outside. Rhett was quiet a moment, picking at his nails nervously when Link stopped next to a bench and locked the wheels in place. “Wait here, I’ll bring the truck around.” While Link walked off, I was left alone with Rhett who looked beside himself in grief. 

“I’m not mad at you,” I said after a moment. The nurse had left us after Link went for the truck, which gave us a moment to talk. “Now, I don’t remember exactly what happened, but I know we were fighting and you accidentally pushed me. I don’t remember what we were fighting about, but I know we were all fired up about it. Either way, I’m not mad at you.”

“Wren. . .” He said, sighing heavily as he looked up at me from his hands. “You have every right to be and I won’t hold it against you. I-I was selfish and paranoid. It should have never gotten as far as it did.”

“Talk to me,” I said, reaching out to take his shaking hand. “Tell me what’s going through that head of yours.”

He took a deep breath as he looked around before sitting on a bench next to me. I kept hold of his hand as he gathered himself, letting him get his words straight as he stroked my hand. 

“Link’s got a good family,” Rhett said. “He’s got six siblings with three parents and they’re all happy, living together. . . I had two siblings, with three parents. Two Beta dads and an Alpha mom. Growing up, it wasn’t like what Link had, what you had. Mom was mean. Cruel really. She would make sure that me and my sisters knew that Betas and Omegas were sneaky and spiteful and would hurt you whenever they could. She’d embarrass us all the time in front of other people, yelling at my dads. Demanding to know who they were sleeping with behind her back. She’d accuse them of trying to run away together because they didn’t really love her anymore. 

Mom made sure that it was drilled into our heads that if you had more than one partner, that if you didn’t keep them in line that they’d leave you. After years of the abuse, my dads finally did leave with each other. They didn’t take us kids with them and. . . And for a very long time I believed my mom was right. That if you had more than one person, if they were Beta or Omega, they would run off without you. No matter how you treated them,” he said. “I thought that being with Link, another Alpha, that I could unlearn that. That I would be a better person than my mom and that she couldn’t control me anymore, but. . . But then I came home and smelt you and Link.” 

He stopped, taking a deep breath as he held my hand tight. I could hear the catch in his breathing as he tried to start talking again, but stopped. It was heartbreaking and I wanted nothing more than to pull him into my arms and tell him it would be okay. That he was still cared for and wanted. But he needed to get this out, to tell me, to explain to me what happened. 

“I came home and smelt that you two had been together and something in me just clicked. It was like every fear, every worry, every paranoid thought of my Mom came rushing forward and I couldn’t control myself. I never should have done or said anything that I did. This never should have happened,” he said, looking up with teary eyes, stroking my hair softly. “I swear, it won’t happen again. I won’t hold it in and explode like that. I’ll talk with you and Link. You two are my world and I don’t want to lose that.” 

“I don’t want to lose you either, Rhett,” I said, sniffling as I pulled his hands to me, pressing my lips to his skin. “If I can learn to open up, let you two in, I know you can overcome this as well. Link and I are here for you. We care for you and want you to be happy.”

“I know, I just. . . I just had that stumble. I’m sorry, Wren,” he said, smiling slightly. 

“Hey, I heard you two might be looking for a slightly bloodied truck to ride home in.” We looked up to see Link sitting there with a grin on his face as he winked at us. 

“That blood will never come out,” I said with a sigh. Rhett snorted as he stood up, helping me get from the wheelchair to the truck. Link drove as I rested my head against Rhett. His arm wrapped around me, holding me close as he gently scented me. 

By the time we got home, it was in the later afternoon, almost evening. The daily chores had been thrown to the wayside for the day, the only things that needed to be done as soon as possible was to feed the horses which Link took care of. 

Meanwhile, Rhett helped me to the bathroom to wash out the blood. 

“I don’t think standing is a good thing right now,” he said as he had me sit on the toilet while he went to grab clothes and towels. “I’ll draw you a bath and help you wash up.”

“I’m not an invalid,” I said with a sigh as he came back in. 

“You just cracked your head open and bled through an entire bathroom towel. You’re not showering,” Rhett said, giving me a look. 

“Fine, I’ll take a bath,” I said as he turned on the water to the tub. “But I can bath myself.”

“Again, I doubt it. You’re not supposed to be left alone and so I’m not leaving you alone,” he said, sitting on the side of the tub. “I know you don’t like being told what to do, but this is honestly for your best interest.”

“And you wanna see me naked,” I said with a smirk. A small pause told me the answer.

“Not the point,” Rhett said, a smile tugging at his lips. 

“Yes, is the point. You get to see me naked, but I don’t get to see you naked?” I said, narrowing my eyes.

“You wanna see me naked?” He asked, smirking as he raised a brow.

“I mean, Link’s seen me naked and I’ve seen him naked. It’s. . . Very nice,” I said, blushing a bit.

“Oh, I know,” he said, licking his lips. “Man’s got hands like the devil.”

“Oh fucking amen,” I groaned, earning a laugh. “Just. . . Take a bath with me. We see each other naked and get cleaned. How fun is that?”

“I mean, you didn’t have to talk me into it, but okay,” Rhett said. Once the water was filled, he helped me undress. I was still wobbly on my feet, so it was less sexy and more of he was helping a toddler get into a bath. In my underwear, he did pause before pulling his own clothes and boots off. I hummed happily at the sight of his bare chest followed by his legs. Then he carefully helped me take my bra off. It was a sports bra so it pulled over my head, which was difficult with my knock on the noggin. It was slow, but we managed to get it off. “Girl, we’re gonna have to comb out that rats nest you have. How do you always manage to get your hair so tangled so easily?”

“It’s a talent,” I said with a smirk. “But go easy. I have a hole in my head.” 

“I planned on it,” Rhett said with a chuckle. He moved to pull his underwear off, revealing himself completely. It wasn’t a sexual situation and he wasn’t hard, but. . . I was just as in awe as I had been with Link. The man was beautiful and I wanted to experience him fully at some point. Right then, not so much. “You like what you see?” He asked, shaking his hips a bit, making his cock almost wag.

“Not anymore, Jesus,” I said, making a face as he kept doing weird hip thrusts. “Just drown me if that’s how it’s going to be having sex with you.” Rhett just laughed as he helped me stand then took my underwear off. 

“You won’t know what hit you when I get a turn,” he said with a smirk. Cautiously, we got into the tub and settled. It was big enough for him to sit in it with his legs stretched out without having to angle himself oddly. As I sat in his lap, he helped me wash my hair. The water turned red as he cleaned the blood that had dried to my head and back. His fingers were always careful of where they were as he worked the soap over my head and body. While we had teased each other beforehand, it was much more relaxing once the grooming actually started. The pain pills had kicked in and the warm water covered us both, working wonderfully together. 

Soap suds floated around us as Rhett took his time massaging the conditioner through my hair to help finger comb my tangles away. By the time he was done, I didn’t want to get out. Curled against his chest, I rested easily as he held me. 

“We could do date nights,” I said softly, an idea coming to me. “So it’s not unexpected and you and Link can have planned time together too.”

“I like the idea of that,” Rhett said. “I really do. We’ll talk more and work it out with Link later. Right now, you’re our number one priority.”

“I won’t argue with that,” I said with a soft smile. 

“Brat,” he said with a snort, kissing my head. 

“You wouldn’t have me any other way,” I said with a hum, looking up at him.

“I really wouldn’t.” Rhett looked down at me with a smile, leaning down to kiss me sweetly.

**Author's Note:**

> IT'S SAD TIME GUYS! I'm not sorry and I won't say I'm sorry. Next piece will be a lot lighter, I promise. Or do I? Some more Rhett and Link sans Wren is in the plans and I'm thinking of delving back to when they were younger too. Cause they fuckin' cute as hell. <3


End file.
